Osimhen Goal Helps Fire Napoli Past Cagliari, Into Top Four

Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia teamed up to secure a 2-1 victory for Napoli over Cagliari on Saturday and lift their team into the Champions League spots in Serie A.

The duo, who were instrumental in Napoli’s amazing league title win last season, scored a goal apiece as the current champions climbed to fourth.

Kvaratskhelia delivered the final blow in the 75th minute, six minutes after Osimhen’s header broke the deadlock and shortly after Leonardo Pavoletti had levelled for the visitors.

Walter Mazzarri’s side are two points clear of fifth-placed Roma and Bologna, who clash on Sunday after their third league home win in a difficult season so far.

Napoli’s title hopes seem dashed as they are 11 points adrift of Inter Milan before the league leaders’ game at Lazio on Sunday night.

Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari remain 16th, one point above the drop zone, and Empoli visit Torino in Saturday’s late game.

Napoli won a game that was postponed by 30 minutes due to strong winds in Naples, which raised doubts over stadium safety.

Turnstiles at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona were kept shut longer than usual while checks on the ground’s roof were done.

No serious damage was detected, and once the game started, Napoli pressed on but found it hard to crack Cagliari’s defence.

After a number of missed opportunities, Amir Rrahmani hit the base of the post just before the half hour, but Cagliari were in the contest and threatening on their counterattacks.

Osimhen made it 1-0 in the 69th minute when he headed a bullet past the helpless goalkeeper, Simone Scuffet of Cagliari.

Pavoletti, who fired Cagliari out of the bottom three last weekend, scored his fourth goal of the season three minutes later.

But the home fans were soon cheering again for Kvaratskhelia’s winner, which came after excellent work from Osimhen, who crossed a low ball that his Georgian partner smashed in off the post.

That was Kvaratskhelia’s second goal in almost two months and gave Napoli their second consecutive home win after defeating Braga midweek to advance to the Champions League knockout stage.